the little crown

St. John the Evangelist saw a woman crowned with twelve stars, clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet. According to the commentators, this woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary, with her virtues and her privileges, especially that of her divine maternity.

Thus originated the Little Crown of the Twelve Stars of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which many saints made it a practice to recite frequently.

St. Louis De Montfort even gave this prayer to his religious families (The Montfort Fathers and the Daughters of Wisdom) as their morning prayer. He also recommended it to all those who embrace the devotion of the holy and loving Jesus through Mary.

Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary

I. Crown of Excellence

(To honor the divine maternity of the Blessed Virgin, her ineffable virginity, her purity without stain and her innumerable virtues.)

1. Our Father. Hail Mary.

Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, who didst bear the Lord, the Creator of the World; thou didst give birth to Him Who made thee, and remainest a virgin forever. Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; rejoice a thousand times!

2. Hail Mary.

O holy an immaculate Virgin, I know not with what praise to extoll thee, since thou didst bear in thy womb the very One Whom the heavens cannot contain. Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; rejoice a thousand times!

3. Hail Mary.

Thou art all fair, O Virgin Mary; and there is no stain in thee. Rejoice, O Virgin Mary; rejoice a thousand times!

I am all thine and all that I have is thine, O Virgin blessed above all things! Let thy soul be in me to magnify the Lord; let they spirit be in me to rejoice in God. Set thy self, O faithful Virgin, as a seal upon my heart, that in thee and through thee I may be found faithful to God. Receive me, O gracious Virgin, among those whom thou loves and teaches, whom thou leanest, nourishes and protectest as they children.

Grant that for love of thee I may despise all earthly consolations and ever cling to those of Heaven until, through the Holy Ghost, thy faithful Spouse, and through thee, His faithful spouse, Jesus Christ thy Son be formed in me for the glory of the Father. Amen.

Traditionally firefighters in Rome put flowers on the statue, as seen in the featured image, in the morning on the occasion of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and the pope blesses the statue later in the day.

Here is the full translated text of the Pope’s prayer:

Photograph from the AFP

“Immaculate Mother, for the fifth time I come to your feet as Bishop of Rome,to pay you homage on behalf of all the inhabitants of this city.

We want to thank you for the constant carewith which you accompany us on our journey,the journey of families, parishes, religious communities;the journey of those who daily, and sometimes with difficulty,pass through Rome on their way to work;the journey of the sick, the elderly, the poor,the journey of so many people who immigrated here from places where there is war and hunger.

O Mother, help this city develop the “antibodies” it needsto combat some of the viruses of our times:the indifference that says: “It’s not my business”;the unsociable behavior that despises the common good;the fear of the foreigner and those who are different from us;the conformism that disguises itself as transgression;the hypocrisy that accuses others while doing the same things;the resignation to environmental and ethical degradation;the exploitation of so many men and women.

Help us to reject these and other viruseswith the antibodies that come from the Gospel.Let us make it a good habitto read a passage from the Gospel every dayand, following your example, to keep the Word of God in our hearts,so that, like a good seed, it may fruit in our lives.

Immaculate Virgin,

175 years ago, not far from here,in the church of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte,you touched the heart of Alphonse Ratisbonne, who at that moment,from being an atheist and enemy of the Church, became a Christian.

You revealed yourself to him as a Mother of grace and mercy.Grant that we too, especially in times of trial and temptation,may fix our gaze on your open hands,hands that allow the Lord’s graces to fall upon the earth.Help us to rid ourselves of all pride and arrogance,and to recognize ourselves for what we really are:small and poor sinners, but always your children.

So, let us place our hand in yoursAnd allow ourselves to be led back to Jesus, our Brother and Savior,and to our Heavenly Father, who never tires of waiting for usand forgiving us when we return to Him.

Thank you, Mother, for always listening to us!Bless the Church that is in Rome.Bless this City and the whole world.”

Amen.

hugs n’ blessings to all those devoted to the Blessed Mother Mary and celebrating her Immaculate Conception today, and every day!

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4 thoughts on “the little crown”

Thank you Ann-Marie for the beauty of your posts and indeed for an insight into the beauty and holiness of your life’s Hope and living. I will always be grateful for our connection through blogging. In love absolutely for my Saviour and understanding that TRINITY is equality of FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT. I also value and revere Mary’s obedience and Calling to carry the baby into the world. ( like the Ark of the Covenant carrying the Presence of God). I will always honour her for her life-giving act of love to us. I can only accept however that Jesus Christ who sits at the right Hand of the Father is the ONE who intercedes on behalf of the ones here who pray. The Spirit of Christ living within always affirms His deity and ever turns my life to the Saviour on the Cross. I do however respect people of faith who have found a reality of Mary is their lives. My life was saved by a figure in the middle of the road. that warned of the danger of a sharp bend and the fallen tree around the corner. I always believed the figure was female so I am in the position of accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour Lord and simply trusting God to lead and guide my life. In HIM absolutely do I put my trust……but…….thank You Mary for your love for God which made it possible for Salvation to come to all who accept and follow HIM. Blessings and Grace and appreciation to you, .Ann-Marie …x…if you ever want to visit my more private website: http://www.fayeroots.com On there I have shared a little of my faith journey and indeed why I write as I do. I have much to thank God for……….Italian Catholic (background) father and a beautiful loving mother from a Calvinistic Presbyterian background. Jesus Christ was their meeting point of absolute certainty.

Thank you Faye for sharing your private website with me and I look forward to all that I will discover there. I appreciate your love for our Lord & Savior and all the many ways you have witnessed to the power of His saving grace. Personally and as a apostolate to so many others. 💕

Although we share different spiritual beliefs, I read each and every word you right to better understand one’s devotion to Christianity. I believe each religion offers wisdom, goodness and a message of love and compassion. I seek this in the words you share. Thank you for the enlightenment and spiritual awakening that adds so much comfort to my life.

Thank you, Doc. I am humbled by your kind words – to hear from a person you, yourself have learned so much from (yes, that’s YOU) that they have received a nugget of learned information from me is very over-whelming. Truly amazing grace…. Thank you for warming my heart with your extremely kind words. Hugs!!!